FILM CRITICISM OF “THE SHINING” 1980
Directed by Stanley Kubrick and stars Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers, the movie is an adaptation of a 1977 novel of the same name by Stephen King. Though a lot of significant changes have been made to the original work in terms of the characters and the plot. An example is room no. 217 had been changed to room 237 in the movie. Also, the character of Wendy is much weaker and subservient in the movie than in the novel. The treatment is very fresh and original. The hedge maze added in the film is a symbol of the circumstances the characters are stuck in where they are trapped in a remote hotel, with unknown dangers at every turn. Also, the shot where the camera is following a subject usually conveys a sense of freedom to the characters but here, the treatment is different. Even though the characters seem to be choosing their path, but in reality the path has already been laid out for them owing to the structural design of the maze, and they are forced to
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In the same shot, his expressions and body gestures were very violent. Jack’s eyes had an aggressive look and it seemed like he was enjoying it. Danny with the innocence on his face and his conversations with his imaginary friend Tony and his psychic abilities i.e. the gift of Shining was also a very believable character.
The casting is very appropriate. Shelley Duvall is not the conventionally good looking actress. Her easy and simple look makes her the ideal subservient wife who turns hysterical sometimes. Danny Lloyd also justifies his character as the young Danny Torrance who has an imaginary friend and psychic abilities. Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance is astounding. His smooth transformation from a writer to a psychotic person shows his amazing acting prowess. His character is brought to life with his sincere acting and makes us feel sorry for Jack Torrance and his ultimate plunge into
In the novel "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart, there are several powerful symbolic archetypes that highlight the influence of wealth in society. One of these archetypes is the maze, which symbolizes the complex, confusing world of the wealthy. The Sinclairs, the family in the novel, live on their private island, where they are surrounded by a maze of walls and fences that keep them isolated from the rest of the world. This represents the labyrinthine complexity of their lives, where the wealthy have many paths to choose from, but few lead to true happiness.
These people are called Gladers and they decide to escape the maze. The ideas in this text are similar to the ideas in The Maze Runner because both books are dystopian fiction. Dystopia is an society in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society, maintained
In almost all films and novels of any genre, evil does not and cannot triumph. This is the case in both “Jekyll and Hyde” and “The Shining” wherein evil is represented as a force that ultimately causes its own demise. Both antagonists commit suicide due to being overcome by their better nature. In “The Shining” Jack Torrance is on the verge of murdering his son, until “the face in front of him changed” and “the mallet began to rise and descend, destroying the last of Jack Torrance’s image”. This suggests that violent people meet violent ends.
Overlooking Sanity Can isolation be the cause of losing one’s sanity, or could there be other reasons? The film “The Shining” shows how this question can be answered. In 1980, Stanley Kubrick produced a film recognized as one of the best horror films of all time. The main character is Jack Torrance alongside his family, Wendy and Danny. As they take care of the “Overlook” hotel, Jack starts turning into a psychopath and lose his sanity by the day.
“The Shining” is a novel written by Stephen King in 1977 and a horror movie directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1980. The novel and movie tells a story about Jack Torrance, who becomes the off-season winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel. Although the movie and the book have some similarities; there are many differences from the adaptation of the novel. In the book, the main characters are Jack Torrance, Wendy Torrance, and their son Danny Torrance.
Overall, he is a well-rounded character because he has deep conflicts, things he wants
“Identity cannot be found or fabricated, but emerges from within when one has the courage to let go”- by Doug Cooper. Circumstances, experiences and society are factors in an individual’s life which contribute to the formation of their identity. Identity is not found, instead, it’s made by conflicts, hurdles, societal pressures and obstacles in one’s life which come together in harmony to create one’s identity in its purest form. How individuals act and respond to challenging circumstances determines their values, goals and beliefs, thus, forms them as a whole. In the text name “The Shining Houses” by Alice Munro, a character named Mary experiences stresses in her life which attribute to not only her individuality but to her development as a character as the story progresses.
He does what he thinks is right by helping Tom Robinson even though people in his family and close community don’t approve. Both of these characters have taught me to
It could be that the violence of Jack is a part of Jack yet now it is amplified. It is not completely him yet it is a part of his character that took over Jack's whole personality. Furthermore, John Hutz says that “King's novel...investigates the complex ways in which the past acts upon – indeed, lives on in – the present.
The 1996 movie “The Crucible” offers some insight to what the Salem witch trials were all about in 1692. The movie begins with teenage girls dancing in the woods and performing what looks like some ceremony led by a slave named Tituba. It is revealed that the girls were participating in witchcraft in order to cast a love spell on the young men in town. The girls end up being caught in this act and are accused of witchcraft. This event sets off mass hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts.
The maze is a symbol of the confusion and uncertainty that the characters experience as a result of their trauma. The characters feel trapped and unable to escape the maze of their own thoughts and feelings. They are lost and disoriented, unable to find their way out of the maze. The second archetype used to represent trauma
The most critical part of a horror movie, is the suspense. The Shining did a satisfying job when it came to each scene, having its own little twist. These little twists added up in the end to make the film as striking as possible. With these little twists in mind it brings an example out from the movie. This is shown by the scene in which, the little boy named Danny is in his bathroom talking to his invisible friend Tony, in which lives in Danny’s mouth.
In the film ‘The Shining’, Shelly Duvall plays the character ‘Wendy’ the stereotypical ‘woman in distress’ and a rather quite sexist outlook on women. In the beginning of the film, the way Jack behaved towards wendy already showed that he had some sort of resentment towards Wendy, some sort of grudge he was holding against her, “As long as I live, she’ll never let me forget what happened.” Wendy’s character plays the nurturing mother, a ‘good’ wife that fixes things around the hotel like a typical housewife would. This whole ‘typical’ female role as a wife and mother is considered ‘ideological’ and it is semiotic to the male dominated society nowadays.
Things start happening when a girl named Teresa arrives at the maze the very next day. Either they find a way out or they all die. It is important that you read this essay because of the many similarities and differences you might have missed when you read the book and then watched the film. The movie, "The Maze Runner" is one of the best selling books and most sold out movie of all time;however there are many differences and similarities between them and the added events in the film. The novel, "The Maze Runner" and it 's film adaptaion are different for several reasons.
The book was suspenseful; it kept drawing me in for more, each and each day. The book really enlightened me because the suspense and action kept my mind thinking and racing with thoughts that I thought I could connect to the book and make predictions on the future events in the book. The themes between my paragraphs were basically saying you have to look at the bigger picture of the story, just like Thomas did in the maze. The theme of my essay correlates with my title. What I mean about ‘running the maze’ is that to get through the maze you have to look at the bigger picture and find a solution.